TH Forums Highlights: Retrofit for Green, Building Green + More

1) New Forums user Damien Jones (welcome!) is looking to do some green retrofitting: "The basic question I have is whether it is better to retrofit my 1970's bungalow (2x4 framing) with a geothermal/geoexchange system or to re-insulate/side it and replace all the windows (the attic insulation is fairly recent and appears adequate). I suspect the costs will be about the same, but I am concerned about having to replace the existing cedar siding, at least partially, if insulation is added to the outside of the house." Any green builders out there that can help?

2) Another new user, draginol (and welcome to you, too!) has another building-related issue to talk out: "Anyway, I'm one of those people who are definitely 'part of the problem' but I am in the process of building a new home. I want to build it to decrease its impact on the environment as much as possible. I am not as concerned with going green to 'save money in the long term' as much as I simply want to lower my impact. Are there any good guides for building high end homes that are trying to be green?" There is a lot of ground to cover here...

3) Lastly, Forums user Casa Verde starts a quick poll about energy prices in your neck of the woods. Casa Verde is in Puerto Rico, where energy is $0.27 per kWh, and, judging by responses from other users, that's on the high end; other users check in at $0.07 per kWh, $0.097 per kWh, $0.14 per kWh, and that's not including the renewable energy options that are available to many of us. Still, the average seems to be just about $0.10 per kWh; compared to the $0.27/kWh that Casa Verde pays, another user comments that perhaps its time to look in to some residential solar power.

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